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Christians in Sri Lanka

6th century, known as the Anuradhapura cross plays a significant role in Christians in Sri Lanka.
Christians by region (1980–2000)
Total population
1,552,161 (2012)
Founder
Thomas the Apostle
Regions with significant populations
Province
Western	752,993
North Western	300,367
Northern	204,005
Central	90,519
Eastern	80,801
Religions
Roman Catholicism Anglicanism Pentecostalism Methodism
Languages
Sinhala Tamil English

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Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties.

Records suggest that St. Thomas Christians and Nestorian Christians lived in Sri Lanka, and the Anuradhapura cross is one of the archaeological finds that suggest Christianity in Sri Lanka before the arrival of the Portuguese. Nestorian Christianity is said to have thrived in Sri Lanka with the patronage of King Dathusena during the 5th century. There are mentions of involvement of Persian Christians with the Sri Lankan royal family during the Sigiriya Period. Over seventy-five ships carrying Murundi soldiers from Mangalore are said to have arrived in the Sri Lankan town of Chilaw most of whom were Christians. King Dathusena's daughter was married to his nephew Migara who is also said to have been a Nestorian Christian, and a commander of the Sinhalese army. Maga Brahmana, a christian priest of Persian origin is said to have provided advice to King Dathusena on establishing his palace on the Sigiriya Rock. According to Leonard Pinto, this is not widely accepted as it is contrary to recorded Mahāvaṃsa textual sources on royal family from this period. The Anuradhapura Cross discovered in 1912 is also considered to be an indication of a strong Nestorian Christian presence in Sri Lanka between the 3rd and 10th century in the then capital of Anuradhapura of Sri Lanka. There were also conversions by the Dutch in the 17th century.

The Christian population of Sri Lanka includes members of Burghers, Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups.

Catholicism

In the pre-colonial era, Nestorian Christians and St. Thomas Christians were both present in Sri Lanka. These two groups later established a union with the Catholic Church. After Yahballaha III, the Nestorians accepted union with the Catholic Church. Father Jordanus arrived in Sri Lanka in 1329 and Giovanni de Marignolli arrived as Papal Legate in 1348/49 to assist the Christians in the country. There were also Catholic travellers such as Odoric of Pordenone who visited Sri Lanka.

Catholicism was formally introduced by the Portuguese in 1505. 6.19% of the population (1,261,194 persons) is Catholic, according to the 2012 census. Catholicism thus constitutes approximately 83.5% of the Christian population as of census day 2012.

Catholicism was first introduced by the Portuguese, who left a notable mark in that Portuguese surnames are still used by many Catholics. Dutch missionaries tried to spread Protestantism after the Portuguese were expelled, but most Sri Lankan Christians are now Catholics. There is an archbishop and 11 other bishops. The dioceses are:

1. Archdiocese of Colombo
2. Diocese of Anuradhapura
3. Diocese of Badulla
4. Diocese of Batticaloa
5. Diocese of Chilaw
6. Diocese of Galle
7. Diocese of Jaffna
8. Diocese of Kandy
9. Diocese of Kurunegala
10. Diocese of Mannar
11. Diocese of Ratnapura
12. Diocese of Trincomalee

Protestantism

290,967 persons in Sri Lanka (1.43%) are Protestants as per the 2012 census. The Ceylon Pentecostal Mission has about 16,500 church members and 70 churches (faith homes) in Sri Lanka. About 2000 people (1998) are affiliated with congregations belonging to the Baptist World Alliance. The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church has about 5,000 members.

The main Protestant churches in Sri Lanka are Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and Salvation Army. The Church of Ceylon is an extra-provincial Anglican church, and the Church of South India (a united church of Anglicans, Presbyterians, and other Protestants) is a full member of the Anglican Communion and has a diocese in Jaffna. The Anglican Church has a strong effect on people in some areas. Methodist missionaries established 187 schools of which only 2 remains (Wesley College and Methodist College) because all the other schools were taken over by the government. Methodism has over 40,000 followers in Sri Lanka with 45 circuits, 200 churches and 120 pastors. Moratuwa Area and Kutunayake Negombo Areas are the regions where many Methodists live. In 2005 and 2006, the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka had a very difficult time during a period of anti-Christian violence.

St. Andrew's Church in Colombo is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. For administrative purposes, it is part of the Church of Scotland's International Presbytery.

According to the 2015 yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, around 6,671 active members are in Sri Lanka.

American Mission

Ceylon under the British Occupation, when the British government slashed expenditures on education on the island due to budgetary constraints, it relied heavily on Christian missionaries to carry out educational actives. A significant portion of this effort was made by the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) that was established in 1813 by Rev. Samuel Newell in Jaffna, in Tamil-dominated northern Ceylon, as part of the evangelising effort of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Lutheranism

The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church is a confessional Lutheran church in Sri Lanka, and the only Lutheran denomination registered with the Sri Lankan government. The church consists of more than a dozen congregations or mission stations, mainly concentrated in the tea plantation regions of Nuwara Eliya, Central Province.

Eastern Orthodoxy

The Russian Orthodox Church organized two missionary trips to Sri Lanka in January and April 2024, marking the resumption of its mission on the island after earlier attempts had failed to take root. Liturgical services were held in the city of Kurunegala and the neighboring village of Melsiripura. Following constituent meetings of communities in Kurunegala and Colombo, members are awaiting the decision of clergy on the official establishment of the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sri Lanka.

See also

• Religion in Sri Lanka
• Status of religious freedom in Sri Lanka
• 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
• Mannar Catholic martyrs (1544)

References

1. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
2. "A Brief History Of Christianity In Sri Lanka". 20 September 2013.
3. Aprem, Mar. "Early Christianity in Sri Lanka and India and Issues of Identity". Assyrian International News Agency. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
4. Hattaway, Paul (2004). Peoples of the Buddhist World: A Christian Prayer Diary. William Carey Library. ISBN 978-0-87808-361-9. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
5. Pinto, Leonard (20 September 2013). "A Brief History Of Christianity In Sri Lanka". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
6. "The Forgotten Christian World". History Today. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
7. "Mar Aprem Metropolitan Visits Ancient Anuradhapura Cross in Official Trip to Sri Lanka". Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
8. Weerakoon, Rajitha. "Did Christianity exist in ancient Sri Lanka?". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 26 February 2015. Although the Nestorian presence in Sri Lanka has been recorded by several foreign historians, Sri Lankan historians maintain that it had not spread among Sri Lankans. These may have been probably due to the fact that Buddhism gained ground.
9. ^ Pinto, Leonard (14 July 2015). Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations. Balboa Publishers. pp. 55–57. ISBN 978-1452528632.
10. Pinto, Leonard (14 July 2015). Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations. Balboa Publishers. pp. 55–57. ISBN 978-1452528632. Leonard Pinto notes "All this is contrary to the account in Mahawansa and what is in Sri Lankan history books. Most scholars in Sri Lanka do not accept this story of Sigirya by Paranavitana. The presence of Persian Nestorian Christians in Sri Lanka in the fifth and sixth centuries is well documented by Cosmas Indicoplestes, a Nestorian monk who undertook a voyage to Asia. Some writers believe that he did not visit Sri Lanka, but obtained accurate information about Sri Lanka from Sopatros, his fellow Alexandrian merchant, Ethiopian merchants, Greek peaking Dioscoridean merchants and Persian cleargyman Mar Aba."
11. "Mar Aprem Metropolitan Visits Ancient Anuradhapura Cross in Official Trip to Sri Lanka". Assyrian Church News. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
12. Weerakoon, Rajitha (26 June 2011). "Did Christianity exist in ancient Sri Lanka?". Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 August 2021. Although the Nestorian presence in Sri Lanka has been recorded by several foreign historians, Sri Lankan historians maintain that it had not spread among Sri Lankans. These may have been probably due to the fact that Buddhism gained ground.
13. "Main interest". Daily News. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
14. "Christians in Sri Lanka". 16 October 2023.
15. Pinto, Leonard (20 September 2013). "A Brief History Of Christianity In Sri Lanka". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
16. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics od Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
17. "A SHORT HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SRI LANKA". Ministry of Christian Affairs Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
18. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics od Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
19. "Jehovahs Witnesses: Countries Compared". Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
20. "The Foreign Missionary Movement in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, The Nineteenth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center". nationalhumanitiescenter.org. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
21. Public Records of the Registrar of Societies, Sri Lanka, registered under Company Registration No. GA 135, an Association within the meaning of section 34 of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007.
22. "Congregations". Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
23. Фуфаева, Елена (17 June 2024). "Возвращение на Цейлон: о миссии Русской Православной Церкви". Миссионерское обозрение (in Russian). Retrieved 27 June 2024.

External links

• Archdiocese of Colombo
• Open Doors Int'l, Sri Lanka
• Adherents.com, Religion by Location, Sri Lanka
• SriLankanChristians.com
• St. Andrew's Church (Church of Scotland)

• Christianity in Sri Lanka
• 1505 establishments in Asia
• 16th-century establishments in Sri Lanka